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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 43: Main Quest (3)
“What? Kill me?”
“No, die.”
A white bud bloomed at the tip of Ampellion's greatsword.
White smoke billowed out and coalesced.
The shifting white haze revealed screaming faces, their spectral appearance chilling and eerie.
“Subdue them.”
Three ghosts emerged from the mist, each flying toward me in an unsettling trajectory: one aiming for my head, another for my chest, and the last for my legs.
Though they didn’t feel particularly threatening, I raised my shield and slashed at them.
[Aaaaaahhhh.]
[Freedom… I’ve been freed.]
[Finally…]
Each ghost disappeared with an exultant cry as they were struck by my sword infused with holy power.
Their forms gradually faded as they were cut down.
What was this?
It felt… empty.
But this was just the beginning.
“To think you'd absorb souls…”
Suddenly, light burst from the sunken eye sockets of the skeletal knight, and his aura transformed entirely.
The Death Knight King with blazing red eyes.
As he raised his sword once more, I felt a sharp twinge in my head.
Danger detected!
I immediately dodged to the side.
As the skeletal knight’s sword cleaved vertically through the air, it split the world itself.
The sundered atmosphere rippled outward, and the ground beneath me cracked deeply, forming a perfectly straight line.
What kind of insane swordsmanship was this…?
I’d need to fight him properly now.
“Summon Flame Chariot!”
I called forth the Flame Chariot and sent it charging directly at him at full speed.
At least this would deal some damage.
“The power of the Sun God…”
But Ampellion swung his sword horizontally this time, cutting the Flame Chariot clean in half.
It vanished without a trace.
To think the chariot was destroyed in a single blow…!
How?
Was his attack imbued with magic too?
It was shocking to see an A-rank skill nullified so easily.
Though his movements were slow, his strength was overwhelming.
Could it be that his slow pace was intentional, showing his confidence that he could overpower me regardless?
Even though it hurt my pride, I decided to maintain my distance and stall until reinforcements arrived.
I stepped back and summoned Artemis’s Bow.
Ampellion made no move to chase me, simply watching calmly as if waiting for me to perform.
“So, this is the power of the Moon Goddess.”
I created magical arrows and shot them, but he leisurely deflected each one with his sword, as if he found it amusing.
“To think the blessings of the Goddess of War would be this powerful.”
He’s analyzing me.
Could this be part of the Chaos Lord’s attention?
I kept attacking with arrows and spells, even though I was being analyzed.
After all, standing still could mean death.
“Flame Strike.”
Thanks to the power of Athena’s Grimoire, my magic skill levels had increased, allowing me to learn this 4th-circle flame spell.
A fiery circle appeared on the ground Ampellion stood on, erupting into flames—a powerful spell capable of incinerating an ogre in one blow.
But Ampellion merely glanced at the fiery circle beneath him and stomped it out.
What the hell…?
Who is this guy?
“A 4th-circle spell. And you’re not even a mage? This must be the work of the Goddess of Wisdom. That’s right; they said this generation combines the Goddess of War and Wisdom.”
Is he talking about Athena?
The Death Knight continued analyzing my attacks, evaluating each one.
Not a single attack landed.
Even if reinforcements came, I was suddenly hit with the grim thought: would they even stand a chance?
Still, I had to hold on until they arrived.
I instinctively nocked another arrow and fired.
I figured he would block it with his sword again.
But this time, his sword didn’t move.
Thunk!
The arrow pierced his body, embedding itself in his chest.
Holy flames ignited where it struck.
Ampellion stared quietly at the flames consuming his chest.
“What immense divine power… You’re blessed by the gods to an extraordinary degree. And naturally, you’re absorbing my energy despite the gap in our strength.”
Click, clack.
His skeletal teeth clattered together.
His expression—if you could call it that—seemed to twist into an eerie smile.
“The Supreme Lord of the Death was right. Even if it’s only part of me, this is worth dying for.”
Ampellion plunged his sword into the ground, and the earth began to quake violently.
Though I could still stand, it was clear that the tremors would worsen over time.
I had to respond.
“Fly.”
Using 4th-circle flight magic, I lifted myself off the ground, hovering about 5 meters up to avoid losing control.
“Summon Flame Chariot.”
Once more, I summoned the Flame Chariot and sent it hurtling toward Ampellion while firing arrows from the air.
The chariot and my magic arrows struck him simultaneously.
Ampellion’s entire body was engulfed in holy flames.
Yet he remained unaffected.
The chariot continued to burn him, but he didn’t flinch.
Damn it.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
Shouldn’t he at least take some damage?
“Open, O Gate of the Dead.”
The ground collapsed.
The earth disappeared, replaced by a ghastly gray-white mist.
From within, the same ghosts I’d encountered earlier began emerging in droves.
Though they moved slowly, they homed in on me like guided missiles, making me feel like their prey.
Ugh.
I’ll have to go all out.
“Blessing of the Whole Body.”
Though they weren’t projectiles, boosting my stats would still be useful.
Ampellion watched my skills with apparent interest.
The battle wasn’t over.
But one thing was clear: this was going to be a long and grueling fight.
“The blessing of the God of War… Your talent is terrible, yet you have divine blessings.”
Oh, this guy.
How does he think he knows my talent and talk like that?
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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[It’s a human…!]
[Save me… Save me!]
[Fall into the abyss with me… Hehehe…]
Wailing ghosts.
Smiling with deranged expressions, they surged from the ground in various forms.
Thankfully, they were slow enough for me to react.
I cast a 4th-circle spell I recently mastered.
“Chain Lightning.”
A bolt of lightning shot from my fingertips.
A yellow holy-infused thunderbolt, thanks to the Goddess Athena.
[We’ve been saved…!]
The ghosts cheered as they vanished, and the lightning spread in all directions.
The ghosts rushing toward me now eagerly sought to be struck by the lightning.
As if they were desperate to die.
What are these lunatics?
Flying higher, I unleashed all the attack spells I had.
Without the divine blessing, I shuddered to think what might have happened.
Even my magic, not just my weapons, carried divine power, utterly annihilating the ghosts.
I didn’t take my eyes off Ampellion even as I killed the enemies.
He was staring at me silently, his sword planted in the ground.
His entire body was ablaze, but he showed no intention of extinguishing the flames.
Instead, the Death Knight laughed mechanically, seemingly enjoying it.
Suddenly, his earlier words, “Kill me,” gnawed at my mind.
Was there value in his death?
If he had swung his sword a few more times while I was surrounded by these ghosts, I would’ve been in real trouble.
Yet he didn’t.
It felt like he was only attacking me with strikes I could handle.
Was he trying to let me kill him deliberately?
Is that why he allowed the Flame Chariot and divine fire to keep burning?
“Summon Flame Chariot.”
I summoned the Flame Chariot around me again, deciding to suppress the surrounding ghosts first, considering his odd behavior.
Neighhhh!
The Flame Chariot galloped through the air, burning the swarm of ghosts.
Once I cleared some space, I climbed onto the chariot and tried to retreat.
It felt like fighting further would only let him analyze me.
Boom!
After running for a while, the Flame Chariot suddenly came to an abrupt stop as if blocked by a wall.
No matter how it leaped through the air, it couldn’t advance further.
“A hero-tier entity cannot surpass the Wall of Chaos. The flame has already been ignited.”
Ampellion’s voice pierced my ears, even from afar.
“If you stop attacking, I’ll simply exert more power.”
Suddenly, the ghosts began appearing at a maddening speed.
The once sluggish movements had doubled or tripled in speed, and their numbers swelled.
Now, I had to use the Flame Chariot as a shield, or I’d be overwhelmed.
[Save us!]
[Kill us… Quickly!]
[Hehehe… It’s a human… A human!]
Before long, I was surrounded by ghosts, and their waves crashed against me like a tidal flood.
Even pouring out magic, it was hard to keep up.
Without the Flame Chariot, I’d have been devoured long ago.
I fought back the ghosts using every tool at my disposal.
Thankfully, the Wall of Chaos Ampellion mentioned also blocked the ghosts, allowing me to lean against it and protect my back.
[Come here, and you can die!]
[Everyone, come here!]
[Let’s devour the human…!]
It had been a while since I’d seen Ampellion’s figure.
If he had attacked me now, I would’ve been done for.
But all he did was send more ghosts.
After several minutes of desperate battle, the onslaught eased slightly.
As I destroyed more ghosts and flew higher, Ampellion stood with his sword drawn.
The ground where he stood remained intact, while everything else had sunken deeply.
He seemed majestic, standing alone amidst cliffs carved by chaos.
Here I was, chased by ghosts, and he had the nerve to strike a pose.
“Burning to this degree… It should suffice.”
Ampellion’s red eyes gradually dimmed.
He pulled his sword completely from the ground and stabbed it into his own chest.
With a sickening crunch, his ribcage shattered, leaving a hollow in his torso.
Then, with a sharp upward slash, his flaming skull flew into the air.
The burning skull soared toward me but stopped abruptly before my eyes.
“You who command souls. Await your master’s arrival. Until next time…”
Click. Click.
He gave me a peculiar smile and disappeared in flames.
As he vanished, the ground began to rise, and the ghosts disappeared.
The thick darkness lifted, and moonlight once again illuminated the world.
Everything had returned to its original state.
The ground was intact, and no signs of the fierce battle remained.
Looking around, I saw many people in the distance, staring at me.
Disabling my flight magic, I landed on the ground, and they rushed toward me.
“Jiho, are you okay?”
“Holy Apostle, are you unharmed?”
Kang Shia and Diana approached with worried faces.
“I’m fine… but what happened outside?”
“When I escaped, a massive pillar of darkness appeared. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t break it.”
“Even with the full might of the Spirit Fortress, it wouldn’t budge.”
Kang Sia explained that as she escaped to bring reinforcements, the dark space expanded into a towering pillar of impenetrable darkness.
No light could pierce it, and any attempt to enter or attack was futile.
Even after gathering all the hunters of the fortress and focusing their firepower, the pillar remained untouched.
They were helpless until the dark space vanished on its own, and I appeared in the sky.
Was that the Wall of Chaos?
What a staggering scale.
“What exactly happened? What became of the Death Knight?”
Before I could answer Kang Shia’s question, a long message appeared in the system window.
[Death Knight King Ampellion has been repelled.]
[This is an unprecedented achievement. Analyzing damage contribution.]
[The top damage contributors against the boss monster Death Knight King are as follows:
1st: Kim Jiho – 51.1%
2nd: Death Knight King Ampellion – 48.9%]
[The defeat of Death Knight King Ampellion is confirmed.]
That guy…
Was he burning in the Flame Chariot just to let me take first place?
Why?
[Death Knight King Ampellion has been repelled.]
[This is an unattainable achievement. The opposing faction may lodge an objection.]
[The Chaos faction raises no objections.]
[The Order faction withholds rewards.]
The phrase “rewards withheld” left me speechless.
I continued reading the system messages.
[Part of Death Knight King Ampellion’s soul has been absorbed.]
[Inadequate compatibility. The grade of your Complete Form Maintenance skill is too low. Only a minute amount is absorbed.]
[Stats have increased significantly.]
[You have partially absorbed the divinity of Chaos. The Chaos aptitude may now bloom.]
[Would you like to unlock the Chaos aptitude?]
So this… was his intent?
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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